


Hit Me With Your Best Shot

by Swing Set in December (swing_set13)



Series: Shoot to Thrill [1]
Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (2011)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-13
Updated: 2011-05-13
Packaged: 2017-10-19 08:15:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/198796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swing_set13/pseuds/Swing%20Set%20in%20December
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some origin stories aren't that interesting. But oh so hilarious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hit Me With Your Best Shot

"So what's your power? Other than being ripped," asks Darcy looking over the new guy. "But that's already a general requirement around here."

Darcy thinks she would have developed a complex if not for her taser. Volts of electricity is a great way to even the playing field. We can't all be physicists.

"I'm the the world’s greatest marksman," he says, his words dripping with arrogance.

Darcy snorts.

" _Seriously_? That's a thing?"

He scowls.

"I bet I can beat you at paper football," she grins.

"You're on."

\---

Darcy's been in a mood. It's almost as bad as when S.H.I.E.L.D. took her iPod. The one she never got back. She still brings it up whenever Agent Coulson graces their lab with his presence. But it's different. Usually Darcy will drag her feet about the lab uninterested in the ground breaking discoveries being made but recently she's finishing her work early. Before Erik has time to complain about deadlines. Jane thinks he kind of misses giving those speeches. Jane can't complain, but it's made her curious. Especially the day when Darcy commandeered a white board.

"What? Everyone else gets to reenact _A Beautiful Mind_ , but I can't?" Darcy says, shoving her hands in her hoodie.

Jane shakes her head with a grin and shows Darcy her private stash of erasable markers. None of those boring reds and greens.

It wouldn't be half as interesting if it wasn't for the fact that Darcy covers it with the horribly mossy green afghan that's a staple for any late night star mapping, whenever she's done. But Jane's got a rainbow bridge to discover or rebuild so Darcy's project is one of those things she's shoves to the back-burner of her mind.

\---

Except it keeps cropping up. Darcy practically snatched the freshly printed pages from the printer's tray before Jane had a chance to grab her satellite scans. Darcy shoved her papers to her then scutters off to her corner of the lab with her papers and Erik's scissors.

"There's something strange about that girl," Erik says, handing Jane a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

"She's been the model employee."  Jane's retreats to the roof have been cut in half in this past month.

"Exactly."

Jane snorts and almost dissolves into laughter before she realizes she's missing an eigenvector in her last calculation. She resurfaces later to ask Darcy to go get more graph paper and to find her coffee stone cold. She drinks it anyway, ignoring Darcy's face scrunch up in disgust before she grabs the car keys, Jane actually prefers it this way. She gets lost in the memory of that one distant morning where she made breakfast with Thor. She can almost feel the ghost of a whisper of his breath of her shoulder and his bright and curious smile when she dumped half a tray of ice cubes into her coffee. She shyly offered him a sip. He finished it in one gulp and praised it as being a fine beverage. Her mug still has a small chip from where he fumbled in catching it before it shattered. It's now her favourite. And proof that it wasn't a dream. He's out there somewhere. She's going to find him.

\---

Jane has limited involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D. Mainly because Erik handles it, she's usually knee deep in calculations and if it wasn't for Darcy luring her away from her desk with pop-tarts, she'd never leave. Also, most of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents grate on her nerves. They were all there that day they packed up her lab. Some of the equipment was broken beyond repair. So, they steer clear of her most days.

But she knows most of them. Not all by name but she never forgets a face. And the man studying her cork board is new but he's S.H.I.E.L.D. A high level one. He seems to ooze that inscrutable super spy persona. Jane idly tries to remember where Darcy's taser is before she clears her throat causing the agent to turn to her direction. His posture is casual in a way to feint nonchalance but his eyes are alert, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Can I help you agent?" she asks quirking her brow.

"Clint Barton," he supplies. "And I'm hardly an agent."

"So who are you?" Jane frowns. The only thing close to use as a weapon is her favourite mug. It's poetic really.

Sensing her unease, he takes a step back and holds his hands out in front of him. "You misunderstand, Ms. Foster."

" _Doctor_ ," she replies instinctively.

"Doctor Foster," he concedes with a wry grin. "I'm just admiring your work."

"Really," she says, crossing her arms. She may have her head in the stars most days but her bullshit meter is still as sharp as ever.

Barton sighs and pulls out his wallet, flashing the all too familiar S.H.I.E.L.D. badge. "See? I mean you no harm."

Jane begrudgingly relaxes her stance upon careful examination of his ID. Barton's eyes scan the lab, his eyes briefly landing on the covered white board. Jane sees the glint of curiosity.

"So what can I do for S.H.I.E.L.D. today?"

If Jane didn't know better, she'd think he was blushing. But S.H.I.E.L.D. agents don't really engage in emotional responses.

"Just wanted to see what the fuss was about," he says. "You did turn down lab space at the headquarters."

Jane lets out a sharp laugh. The sterility of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters was stifling. The week they spent there getting their equipment back was interesting. She wouldn't trade this place for all the lab space in the universe.

"It wasn't really our speed. Erik has the habit of losing keys and Darcy always needs a view. I doubt we would have fared well there," she says absentmindedly turning to her work.

"Where are they?" he asks casually.

"Erik is at S.H.I.E.L.D.," she says not looking up. He should know that. She feels his gaze on her. Looking up, she gets the feeling he's still waiting for an answer. She blinks once before remembering why the lab had been quiet in the first place.

"And Darcy's on a supply run," she finally says.

"Then I won't keep you." Barton actually looks disappointed. She scrutinizes him with a frown, she could have sworn he had an iPod in his hand. He gives a mock salute and disappears into the afternoon light.

That was just weird.

Jane's stomach growls making her forget about Barton.

Darcy should be back with pop-tarts soon.

\---

Jane is in her last leg of calculations. She's feeling positively giddy. Her hair is a rumpled mess and her fingers are stained with pen-marks but she's wired. So it's a bit of a shock to hear Darcy shriek.

Looking across the room in alarm, she relaxes when she sees Darcy doing a weird touchdown dance in front of her white board.

"What are you doing?" Jane asks in bewilderment.

"I'm proving a point," Darcy says with a flourish of her marker. "Well, _proved_."

Jane glances at the board. In Darcy's own blocky writing is a multitude of statistics and photos and newspaper clippings held to the board with alphabet magnets but what stands out is _International Archery Federation_ written in dark pink.

"I knew it wasn't a thing!" Darcy says with glee. "World's greatest marksman, yeah right, more like Iowa's state fair."

Jane feels a question forming in her throat but she shakes her head, she has better things to do. Like breaking the laws of physics.

\---


End file.
